The oysters of Cancale

On the Emerald Coast, within the curved bay of Mont Saint-Michel, east of St-Malo, magnificent oyster beds stretch for miles around the coastline and picturesque fishing port of Cancale in Brittany. It’s one of the best places in France to enjoy oysters says Jeremy Flint.

How the French fell in love with oysters

2000 years ago the Romans who came to France were fond of French oysters and small fishing communities began on the shores of the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel to fish the wild oyster beds. King Louis XIV had oysters from Cancale delivered to Versailles – it’s said he would regularly eat six dozen before his main meal and some claim he would eat up to 300 in one sitting.

Today, cultivated beds cover 400 hectares of the Bay of Cancale, protected from the prevailing westerly winds and rocked by some of the largest and strongest tides in the world. 50 oyster farms and around 500 permanent staff farm a whopping 25,000 tons of oysters per year.

Farming oysters in France

The family run La Ferme Marine oyster farm has been cultivating the delights of the ocean for decades along Cancale’s captivating coastline. They specialise in producing two types of oysters, Japanese and flat. Flat oysters were traditionally harvested by hand at sea and are now dredged before being cultivated. Japanese oysters are more cupped in shape. Straight from the Pacific, they adapt to any type of environment.

The richness and diversity of the marine fauna and flora ecosystem play a crucial role in the breeding of the oyster in the Bay of Cancale. The quality of the sea water and plankton are the most important factors in making the taste of oysters stand out. Rearing an oyster is hard work and requires a unique know-how and a significant amount of time. It takes about three years for an oyster to grow and ready to eat.

Sacks of oysters are placed on raised racks 80cm above the seabed and regularly turned over at low tide during the three to four years of growth. This reshuffling prevents them from sticking to each other. Oyster farmers, kitted out in waders, work with the tides as they work the oyster beds and watch over these small marine pearls. At their prime, the oysters are harvested in rhythm with the tides. When the bags are detached and delivered directly from the seabed to the workshop they are separated, washed, and sorted by size. The grade varies from 0-5 for the hollow ones, so the smaller the number, the bigger the oyster.

The breeding expertise of the oyster farmers of Cancale have earned this area a UNESCO award for Intangible Cultural Heritage and many consider it to be the capital of oyster fishing in France. You’ll find that every restaurant in Cancale serves these succulent molluscs, and there’s an oyster market by the lighthouse where you can buy shucked oysters and sit on the sea wall slurping them.

Historically, oysters were cooked but are now largely consumed raw, and are renowned for their supposed aphrodisiac properties. Legend has it that the famous lover, Casanova ate 50 raw oysters for breakfast each day! The French are the biggest consumers of oysters in Europe gobbling almost 150 tons per year.

How to eat oysters

Oysters are traditionally served with slices of lemon, a mignonette sauce (see recipe below), and plenty of bread and butter (salted is best).

The coastal route from Cancale is a glorious place for a walk, visit the nature reserve of Pointe du Grouin and soak in the fantastic ocean views before feasting your eyes on the magnificent Mont Saint-Michel jutting out of the sea.

To find out more about La Ferme Marine oyster farm and arrange a tour, visit: www.ferme-marine.com

Recipe for Mignonette Sauce

2 tbsps finely chopped shallots
2 tbsps red wine vinegar
1 tbsp water
Pinch of salt

Stir all together, leave for 30 mins. Keeps for 2-3 days.

Jeremy Flint is an award-winning professional photographer and writer specialising in travel, landscape and location photography. His work is published extensively in The Good Life France Magazine, National Geographic Traveller Lonely Planet and Country Life amongst others. He is a five-time finalist in Travel Photographer of the Year, Association of Photographers Discovery Award Winner and National Geographic Traveller Grand Prize Winner.